Response to van der Meer

Abstract

In our recent Current Biology paper [1], we describe an ocean warming experiment in which we manipulated the temperature of panels set on the seafloor to provide a realistic and relevant indication of how benthic communities may change under future ocean warming. We describe increases in growth associated with warming by 1°C, with growth rates up to doubled in some species. The definition of Q₁₀ is a measure of the temperature sensitivity of an enzymatic reaction rate or a physiological process due to an increase by 10°C; doubling of growth rates with a 1°C change gives Q₁₀s around 1,000. In his correspondence, Jaap van der Meer [2] questions our methods and provides alternative analyses which lead him to conclude that our observed increases in growth rate were in fact much lower and in accordance with previous studies from temperate zones. We provide justification for our use of absolute growth rate, justification for not using instantaneous growth rate (or a measure of growth in proportion to previous growth) and encourage the on-going discussion of how to measure and compare growth rates.